First a status from my news feed:

 “We constantly seem to be searching, looking for something that we never seem to find. The love of Jesus is what we are really looking for, yet somehow, our pride wants to prevent us from really knowing this love up close and personal. We are afraid of what this love of God might cost us if we really yielded to Him. But something truly unexplainable happens as we kneel before Jesus; we are given the gift of His presence. Why put this off any longer, worship at the feet of Jesus...” –Pastor Tim Jones

Paper Houses

We all seem to be living in our self constructed paper houses. We block out the world around us. We feel secure, even though our walls are no shelter. We set ourselves up in false safety. But Jesus is standing on the lawn. He is knocking on our door and calling out our name, but He won’t come in until we let him in. He could come in if he really wanted to. He has scissors in His hands; He could come in wherever and whenever He likes. Yet, He stands outside and knocks. Jesus intends to free us from our self-entrapment. He longs for us to see the beauty of all that He has created, to feel the sun radiating on our skin, and to live life as it was meant to be. But He will invade if we let him into our flimsy little paper house. So the rain comes. It soaks right through our walls. In blows us off our comfortable foundation. Sometimes it takes some storms so soak our white paper walls so we can see the form of Jesus standing outside. Only when the walls crumble can we see the sun shining outside.

Everyone puts their own trust in themselves. Everyone seeks their joy in themselves, thinking if I build this paper house and live of the foundation of myself, I will be content all of my days. But Jesus quietly and patiently beckons us to let Him be our foundation. He will not force His way in. That’s not how He operates. That’s not how love works. The question is: who will abandon their paper house and give their life to live for Jesus and who will stay locked in their own heart only to be destroyed when the earth is refined with fire? We have no safety in our self. We have no safety in our paper houses. Let’s abandon our selfish homes and be free to obey the one true God. Let’s kneel in the soft grass at Jesus’ feet where the love of God beams down on us from above. Let’s worship the only one worth worship. It doesn’t matter whether your paper house is success, your significant other, popularity, money, self-worth, fame, security, or some other false god. All will crumble eventually.

I Like You
In romantic relationships, you often find yourself professing what you adore about each other. I like the way you do this. I like this about you or I like your passion to do this. I like when you do this or I like how you are this way. We all have an inner desire to adore and encourage the ones in which we feel affection towards. It doesn’t matter if they already know that you like their hair or beauty or patience, you feel compelled to tell them and they are delighted to hear. So if God is our greatest love and our strongest relationship, wouldn’t it make sense to tell Him what we like about Him? It seems I don’t do that enough. Here are a few things I like about my greatest love:

-          I like that He loves me for who I am, not how I perform.
-          I like how He never gets tired or weary.
-          I like how He understands the way every process in my body works.
-          I like the way He is patient with my stupidity.
-          I like that He is compassionate for the poor, the sick, the impaired, the least of these.
-          I like that He is such a mystery.
-          I like that the more I get to know Him, the more I want to know Him.
-          I like that though He is the most powerful, He is still humble.
-          I like that He has perfect humor. Sometimes we forget this.
-          I like when He comforts me when I feel horrible.
-          I like when he encourages me to be the best I can be.
-          I like that He frustrates the wisdom of the wise and allows the child to understand things so profound.
-          I like that He is just. I can trust that He we always take care of any situation fairly and fully.
-          I like that He is in control. There is no one else I would rather have as King.
-          I like that He takes delight in blessing me. I never deserve it.
-          I like how He is always three steps ahead of me (or more).
-          I like how He gives me what I need, not what I want.
-          I like that He is Holy. He is so worthy that no amount of my praise will do justice.
-          I like that He cares enough about me to discipline me.
-          I like that He actually listens to me, even if I don’t deserve an audience
-          I like that He is faithful. He never breaks His promises.
-          I like His love. The more I love His love, the more I seek His love, thus giving me more of His love. It is a beautiful cycle.
-          I like that He is victorious. He has already won the battle and I get to live in victory because of it.
-          I like that His thoughts, intentions, desires, and plans are always for my good and never for my harm.
-          I like that He is kind, open, approachable, frank, and eager to be my friend.
-          I like that He allows me to love others as well. He isn’t negatively jealous.
-          I like that if I start loving other idols, He brings me back to Himself. He is positively jealous.
-          I like that He is actively and creatively orchestrating people, circumstances, and events to express his affection and correction to provide for my highest good.
-          I like that He is strong in my weakness.
-          I like that He casts my sin as far as the east is from the west, never to return again.
-          I like that He is God and I am not.
-          I like that I can’t understand Him or control Him.
-          I like that He gives me a choice to love Him
-          I like that He gives me an opportunity to serve Him.
-          I like that He allows me in His presence to worship Him.
-          I like that He protects me from evils that I am not even aware of.
-          I like how He speaks to me, kind and gentle. Never loud or boisterous like the enemy.
-          I like how He constantly blows my mind, even when I think I have Him down.
-          I like that He is three personalities in one being. He is constant love and self-giving community.
-          I like that He isn’t even a he, but instead all the best qualities of both genders.
-          I like how He saved us all from ourselves, and created the greatest story ever known.

The list goes on and on.

Let’s tell God what we like about Him. If He is anything my girlfriend Rachel, He will be delighted to hear it, even if He already knows it.